If you do contract work for an employer, and get hurt doing something else, then the first thing that will happen is that your employer will stop paying you. And that is what the baseball players are afraid of - if they get hurt at the WBC they won't get paid. I haven't yet heard an owner say that a player couldn't play - Vernon Wells was just reported to be unable to play for the US because he couldn't get insurance due to spending too much time on the DL last year. This is an issue about whether owners are liable for the contract if a player gets hurt - it isn't a moral issue.

